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Student, administrator, worker, counselor and friend. Many words come to mind when describing Tate McCollum, who is one of the most recognizable faces in the Ingomar community. From the hallways at school to any and every sporting event, McCollum is there shaking hands and hugging everyone he sees.

McCollum has been a facet at Ingomar sporting events for the last six years, most notably seen on the bench at basketball games with coaches Norris Ashley and Richard Byrd. When talking to both coaches and Ingomar principal Kenny Roberts, stories flood from the trio about the help and inspiration McCollum brings to the athletic program.

“We couldn’t do without him. He doesn’t get loud or anything, he just sits there and he helps you out with who has how many fouls and how many time outs we have left,” Ashley said.

“He’s a very positive influence on everyone, the players and kids. You can’t feel bad when you see Tate, and if you do, you’ll feel better once you see him,” Byrd added.

Ashley notes one story in particular that is often told by his son, Jonathan that involved a nine-year old McCollum running a junior high basketball scrimmage in Jonathan’s absence >>> click here to read more from Elizabeth Zaremba.

On a Side Note: Tate is also an official member of the W07BN Sports Staff helping with color commentary duties during Ingomar athletic events when he isn’t busy coaching.

Itawamba Community College’s defending state champion baseball program began to sign its 2010 recruiting class this (Wednesday) afternoon by inking six area standouts.    They include a trio from Pontotoc High School, Blake O’Callaghan (pitcher), Kaleb Kennedy (pitcher/shortstop), and Jake Smithey (third base).

The southpaw, O’Callaghan went 7-2 last year with a 4.59 ERA and had 80 strikeouts in 58 innings pitched for the Warriors, while hitting .396 with two home runs, 27 runs batted in and 30 runs scored.  Kennedy was 8-1 on the hill with a 2.81 earned run average and sported 65 strikeouts in 52 innings pitched.  At the plate, he had a .356 average with a pair of home runs and 27 runs scored.  Smithey finished with a .471 batting average, hit 10 home runs, drove in 33, scored 36 runs and was 16 of 17 in stolen bases for the Division 1-4A champs.

In addition, ICC head coach Rick Collier also had signed Tupelo middle infielder Kirk Roberts, who hit .345 as a junior at THS.  The second baseman/shortstop led the Cotton States Fall League in hitting with a .520 average.

Collier signed a second left-handed pitcher today in Dylan Earnest of Hamilton, who was a Louisville Slugger Pre-Season All-American and a first team Class 2A All-State pitcher by the Mississippi Association of Coaches last year after a 6-2 campaign that included a sparkling 0.84 ERA and a strikeouts to innings pitched ratio of 103 k’s in just 58 1/3 innings pitched.  Earnest’s career record heading into his senior season is 23-7 with an earned run average of under 2.00.  He has also hit better than .325 in each of his first three seasons of varsity baseball for the Lions.

Rounding out the group was Zach Randolph, a catcher from Amory, who hit .366 (31-81 at the plate) last season for the Panthers and when you count his 20 walks, he had an on-base percentage of .514.  In addition, the lead-off hitter struck out only five times and had eight doubles, two triples and drove in 15.  Defensively, he was outstanding as he sported a .990 fielding percentage in 162 innings behind the plate and had 179 putouts and 23 assists.  Randolph threw out nine of the 12 runners that tried to steal on him.

“We feel great to have all six of these guys on board with us at ICC,” said Collier after his program signed all of these standouts today in the media room at the Davis Event Center.  “Through the years, we (ICC) have always enjoyed our relationships with the great coaches and players inside our district.  There’s no way this program could have accomplished all of its feats, if not for the players from our five county district and these six will help us continue our proud tradition.”

Sports, entertainment and marketing giant IMG will announce today that it is stepping into the arena, joining a Pennsylvania-based high school coaches’ association in launching a series of national championship events — most involving state all-star teams — at its Bradenton, Fla., training academy.

The venture comes as the National Federation of State High School Associations, the umbrella organization for state high school governing bodies, gives its first serious consideration to the establishment of sanctioned national championships. More than half the state associations signaled their interest in exploring the issue during the NFHS’ winter convention in San Francisco earlier this month, and its eight-person board of directors could deliver a recommendation in April.

“There’s a lot to work out — time frames, missing school, all those things,” says Ennis Proctor, executive director of the Mississippi High School Activities Association and president of the national board. “If they can be worked out, it may be something that would be good eventually.”

The moves heighten concerns that high school sports are following college athletics’ evolution from extracurricular activity to high-stakes, high-pressure commercial enterprise. “How much longer is it,” says Dan Lebowitz, executive director of Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society, “before we’re at the middle school level?”

Dick Flanary, a former middle school principal who’s now the senior director of >>> click here to read more from Steve Wieberg, USA Today.

BALDWYN (WTVA) — 10 teens have been charged in connection with a series of burglaries within the Baldwyn city limits.

Baldwyn investigators say there have been several burglaries over the past couple of weeks. And they have linked these teens to at least 8 of them.

A Baldwyn woman says she has had her home broken into twice. She has had two TV’s, a DVD player, several pieces of jewelry and a handgun stolen. Police were able to return only a few items.

The rest, they believe, has been sold or pawned.

Eight of the teens were Baldwyn High School students, another two attended Baldwyn Middle School. All of them have been expelled from the school district and will attend an alternative school.

Four of the high school students were football players for the Baldwyn Bearcats.

The students and parents will be responsible for restitution, including damages to property.

Baldwyn High School Principal Ronny Hill would not comment.

PONTOTOC — The New Albany Bulldogs needed a win or a loss by less than nine points to the Pontotoc Warriors in order to claim the Region 1-4A regular season championship, earning them the number one seed in the upcoming region tournament.

Tadarious Coburn and the Bulldogs took care of business.

Coburn scored 23 points in the help lead New Albany (16-7, 8-0) to a 60-54 win over the Pontotoc Warriors (12-12, 4-3) on Tuesday.

Pontotoc jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter before Devonte Berry gave New Albany their first lead of the contest 20-19 at the 5:46 mark of the second quarter, a lead they would never let go of for the remainder of the contest.

The Warriors pulled within 55-50 at the 44.7 seconds left in the game, but New Albany’s Kareem Brown put the game on ice connecting on two-of-three from the line from to help the Bulldogs pick up the 60-54 victory.

Berry and Malcolm Spears each scored 11 points for the Bulldogs.

Henderson State signee Josh Green scored a game-high 24 points despite missing majority of the first half after picking up two fouls early in the first quarter.

New Albany 62  Pontotoc 56 (G)

Jazmine Spears and Nyambi Penson each scored a game-high 15 points, Paris Sanders had 13 and the New Albany Lady Bulldogs moved to 22-0 with a 62-56 win over Pontotoc Lady Warriors.

The victory clinched the Region 1-4A regular season championship for New Albany (22-0, 8-0). Pontotoc (18-3, 6-2) will look to lock up the number two seed next week for the upcoming region tournament to be held at the Davis Event Center on the Fulton campus of Itawamba Community College.

Micha Washington scored 12 points for New Albany, who clinched the number one seed in the region tournament with the win.

Ebony Brinker led Pontotoc with 18 while Katherine Downing added 15 points.

Note: Downing and Penson each connected on five three pointers in the game.

Girls Basketball Scores

Belmont 73 Corinth 33
Calhoun City 48 West Lowndes 28
Eupora 43 East Webster 35
Hickory Flat 78 Baldwyn 72
Myrtle 46 West Union 43
Nettleton 56 Water Valley 36
New Site 79 Mantachie 36
Oxford 51 Saltillo 45
Ripley 79 Booneville 55
Shannon 59 Tishomingo County 54
Tupelo 50 South Panola 44
Tupelo Christian 52 Hamilton 43

Boys Basketball Scores

Aberdeen 73 South Pontotoc 55
Booneville 82 Ripley 68
Calhoun City 90 West Lowndes 63
Corinth 77 Belmont 62
East Webster 73 Eupora 64
Hickory Flat 63 Baldwyn 59
Houston 48 Columbus 37
Nettleton 60 Water Valley 42
New Site 79 Mantachie 53
Oxford 69 Saltillo 58
Tishomingo County 50 Shannon 43
Tupelo 71 South Panola 55

BLUE MOUNTAIN – Brooke Denton, a hard-throwing, two-time Class 4A Division 1 most valuable player for the Pontotoc Lady Warriors, signed a softball grant-in-aid Tuesday with Blue Mountain College.

Denton, a five-time letter-winner at Pontotoc, has racked up 952 strikeouts during her career, including 282 last season when she also compiled a 0.29 earned run average and a .392 batting average.

BMC begins play in fall 2010 in the NAIA TranSouth Athletics Conference.

A regular for the Lady Warriors since the seventh grade, Denton has been named to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal All-Area team the past four years, and has been named her team’s most valuable player four times.

As a seventh-grader, Denton struck out 89 batters and had a 1.4 ERA in 15 games. She had 204 Ks and a 0.63 ERA as an eighth-grader, 182 Ks and 1.1 ERA as a freshman, and as a sophomore struck out 195 with an ERA of 0.38. In her five years, she also batted .245, .351, .352, .390, and .392.

“Brooke is one of the best pitchers in Mississippi and we are thrilled she’s chosen Blue Mountain College to continue her academics and athletics,” said Kevin Barefield, Lady Toppers head coach. “She’s been a leader in a strong program for many years now, and will certainly give our new program an added level of maturity.”

Denton will join Pontotoc teammate KaLeigh Tackitt on the Lady Toppers first team.

The New Albany Lady Bulldogs (21-0, 7-0 Region 1-4A) enters tonight match-up against the Pontotoc Lady Warriors (18-2, 6-1 Region 1-4A) with a large target on their back after being named the state’s new number one girls basketball team according to the Clarion Ledger Super 10 Girls poll released late Monday.

Jazmine Spears has been the centerpiece to the Lady Dawgs success this season averaging an astonishing 20.8 points and 10.9 rebounds per game as a freshman, but Spears isn’t the only weapon Coach John Stroud brings to the fight.

Micha Washington is averaging 13 points and grabbing 5.9 boards per game. Kebrina Lucas is averaging just over 12 points and is leading the team with assist (5.3) and steals (3.7) per game.

Pontotoc comes into the contest with a strong one-two punch of their own behind Rhandi Ball and Ebony Brinker.

Brinker leads the team with 18.5 points per game while Ball averages 13.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 3.7 steals per game, but for the Lady Warriors to pull off the upset tonight a lot of the game will rely on the outside-shooting performances from Katherine Downing and Anna Rosenbaum.

Downing averages 9.6 points and has a team-high 41 three pointers on the season. Rosenbaum has connected on 26 three point attempts while averaging 7.7 points per game.

The last time the two teams met was December 8 with New Albany picking up a 64-30 victory behind 21 points from both Lucas and Washington.

Pontotoc (12-11, 4-2) vs. New Albany (15-7, 7-0)

New Albany needs a win or a loss by less than nine points to the Pontotoc in order to claim the Region 1-4A regular season championship, earning them the number one seed in the upcoming region tournament to be held at the Davis Event Center at the Fulton campus of Itawamba Community College.

Malcolm Spears, brother of Jazmine, leads the Dawgs in scoring at 15.1 points per game while Tadarious Coburn comes in with a 14.8 per game scoring average.

Pontotoc is led in scoring by Josh Green’s 16 points per game along with Andrew Bell’s 14.3 points, but they will be looking for a big night out of Griffin McCormick (9.0 ppg) and Adrian Potter (7.9 ppg) to help the Warriors upend their region rivals and stay in the chase for the regular season crown.

New Albany came away with 64-56 win after a sluggish start by Pontotoc in their last meeting Adrian Gamble led the Dawgs with 14, Spears and Coburn scored 13 each, and Kareem Brown added 10 points.

Clarion Ledger Girls Super 10

1. New Albany 20-0
2. Raymond 19-1
3. Hattiesburg 19-2
4. Pass Christian 19-3
5. Wayne County 18-2
6. Lafayette County 20-1
7. Horn Lake 17-2
8. Harrison Central 20-5
9. New Site 20-0
10. Yazoo City 15-3

Click here to see Class by Class Rankings

Clarion Ledger Boys 10

1. Wingfield 23-0
2. Biloxi 20-1
3. Lanier 17-5
4. Provine 16-4
5. Vicksburg 20-2
6. Starkville 18-2
7. Brandon 20-5
8. Meridian 16-6
9. Callaway 13-7
10. Tchula Marshall 18-1

Click here to see Class by Class Rankings

Top Performers: Metro Edition

Ackerman was the location for one of the premier match-ups in the state, as New Albany took their undefeated record to the Lady Indians’ tournament, facing the top 1A school in McAdams. With some of the top players in the state showcased, neither team disappointed, as the Lady Bulldogs came from behind for the 65-59 win.

Using their strength from behind the arc, McAdams jumped to a 12-5 lead, led by Dierra Gilmore. Gilmore scored 11 first quarter points, including two three’s, the second of which made it a 17-11 game heading into the second.

Stepping up when needed the most, Jazmine Spears scored 12 of New Albany’s 17 second quarter points. Britney Johnson’s triple made it 26-24, but an 8-4 run by McAdams gave them a 34-38 lead at the break.

Settling down in the second half, Spears helped lead New Albany to their first >>> click here to read more from Elizabeth Zaremba.

AMORY – The Amory Lady Panthers are a win away from going where no Amory girls team has gone before.

With Monday night’s 3-0 win against visiting Center Hill, Amory advanced to the second round of the 2010 MHSAA Class 4A state soccer playoffs.

No Lady Panther team, this one the Division 3-4A champion, has been to a North State game.

The game was scoreless at the half.

“We didn’t get very good angles with our shots in the first half,” Amory coach Nathan Clayton said. “Our ball movement was >>> click here to read more from Brandon Speck.